New York (AFP) – Two of Wall Street’s major indexes closed at record highs Thursday, lifted by an upward revision to second-quarter US GDP data and strong earnings from AI chip giant Nvidia. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.16 percent to a record 45,636.90, while the broad-based S&P 500 Index gained 0.32 percent to 6,501.86, also a record. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.53 percent to 21,705.16.
The United States saw its gross domestic product grow at an annualized rate of 3.3 percent in the second quarter, according to Thursday’s official update — higher than previously calculated and above market expectations. The initial GDP estimate published in late July showed annualized growth of 3.0 percent, while investors had expected a revision to only 3.1 percent. The upward revision mainly reflected improvements in investment and consumer spending, the Commerce Department said. Growth was also bolstered by a decline in US imports, which are subtracted from GDP calculations. This drop occurred as businesses pulled back on shipments after rushing to stock up ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes.
Markets are anticipating a potential Federal Reserve rate cut at its September meeting, which could stimulate economic activity. The market “is waiting a little bit to get some more information feeding into Fed decisions,” including next week’s job numbers, Victoria Fernandez of Crossmark Global Investments told AFP. “After the initial release, there were concerns that the domestic economy was slowing quite sharply,” said Richard Flax, chief investment officer at Moneyfarm. “But these latest data suggest that the economy is a bit stronger than initially feared.” The focus now shifts to Friday’s release of a key inflation reading and its potential impact on the outlook for additional rate cuts.
Despite the positive market sentiment, Nvidia shares fell 0.82 percent, adding to recent declines even after posting a profit of $26.4 billion on record revenue of $46.7 billion in the second quarter. Investors had keenly awaited Wednesday’s earnings update from the California-based firm, whose remarkable growth has driven strong gains for tech stocks in recent months. The earnings report comes amid market concerns over a potential spending bubble in the artificial intelligence sector that could hurt the chip giant’s prospects.
In Europe, the Paris stock market extended its recovery after tumbling early in the week on fears that France’s minority government could be toppled. Prime Minister François Bayrou had proposed a confidence vote over his budget cuts. France’s borrowing costs have soared since the vote was called Monday, as the government struggles to find around 44 billion euros ($51 billion) in savings.
**Key figures at around 2045 GMT**
New York – Dow: UP 0.16 percent at 45,636.90 points
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.32 percent at 6,501.86
New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.53 percent to 21,705.16
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 9,216.82
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,762.60
Frankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 24,039.92
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 42,828.79 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.8 percent at 24,998.82 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,843.60 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1680 from $1.1633 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at 1.3508 from 1.3496
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.97 from 147.51 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.46 from 86.20 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.70 percent at $64.60 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.84 percent at $68.62 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
